Claiming Her Mates: Book Three: A reverse harem paranormal romance series

by Dia Cole

Havana arched her eyebrow. “Seriously? You just carry gloves around with you now?”

  “I found a whole box of them in the ski lodge clinic. Now lie back and spread your legs.”

  Havana fluttered her lashes seductively. “I’ll spread my legs for you anytime, Dr. James.”

  “Please, love.” Doc knelt and inserted his fingers inside her.

  She moaned; although it didn’t look like Doc was trying to do anything other than feel her womb.

  A few moments later, Doc said, “Your cervix is nice and closed. That’s good.”

  “So good.” Havana moaned and thrust her hips against his fingers.

  “Stay still,” Doc ordered.

  “Could move your fingers there… right there?” She rocked her hips restlessly, her eyes going unfocused.

  The scent of her growing arousal made my balls tighten.

  Doc withdrew his hand and gave her a chiding look. “No, love. You cannot have any orgasms until later in your pregnancy.”

  I winced. That’s going to suck for all of us.

  Havana sat up. “What? Why the hell not?”

  “It causes the muscles of the uterus to contract which can trigger a miscarriage at this early stage.”

  Havana frowned. “Pregnant women have sex all the time.”

  Doc pulled off his glove. “Lykos physiology is different from that of human women. Unfortunately, the miscarriage rate is much higher. But don’t be upset, love. It’s just for the first trimester until the placenta has developed.”

  Havana pouted. “But that’s like twelve weeks.”

  Doc shook his head. “It’s four weeks. A Lykos pregnancy is sixteen weeks to full term. Although it could be a week or so less if it’s a multiple pregnancy.”

  Doc’s words gave me pause. Could she be pregnant with more than one babe? I liked the idea of twins. I had twin brothers and had always envied the close bond they’d had with one another.

  “Multiple pregnancy?” Havana’s eyes went wide. “Like instead of one baby, there could be three or four or—?”

  Doc interrupted her. “Twin pregnancies occur at a higher rate among Lykos. I’d venture to say one in eight. Higher multiples are much rarer, maybe one in fifty.”

  Havana let out a deep breath. “Thank God. I was starting to freak out that I'd have a litter of babies.”

  “That’s unlikely. However, there’s an ultrasound machine at Sanctuary. As soon as we get back, we’ll do a scan.” Doc pulled her upright. “I didn’t see any blood or negative consequence from your recent interlude with Liam.” He gave me a hard look.

  Feeling relieved as hell, I grabbed Havana’s robe off the floor and handed it to her. “Here, stay warm.”

  Doc nodded approvingly. “Yes, you’ll want to avoid extreme temperatures and you must take in at least twice as many calories as you usually do.”

  Havana blanched. “I’ve been pretty nauseous.”

  “That should fade in the next few days. But until then, you need to eat through the nausea.”

  “Okay, I’ll try.” Havana started to stand.

  Both Doc and I reached our hands out to help her up.

  She laughed and batted us away. “Seriously, guys. I’m fine. You don’t need to treat me like some fragile object.”

  Does she not understand the significance of her condition? All Lykos revered pregnant Alpha females. She was a walking goddess among our kind. Before I could explain that to her, I heard the door opened behind me.

  “What the fuck is this?” Nathan’s voice boomed.

  4

  Havana

  Crap. Not this now. My nerves were already frayed from trying to process all the information Mason had just dished out. No shifting. No sex. A decent chance I was carrying twins. My stomach knotted. It was a lot to wrap my head around. The last thing I needed was Nathan going all Alpha male on us, but it looked as if that was exactly what was happening.

  I peered around Liam’s massive bicep to find Nathan standing by the door, glaring at the three of us.

  The Alpha male’s right eye had swollen shut and blood dripped down the side of his bruised jaw.

  Oh, God. “Nathan!” I started to run to him, but Mason grabbed my hand, securing me to his side.

  “Best give him a minute, love.” Mason kissed my hand and gave me a tight smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  Nathan’s red-hot fury exploded through our bond. “Why are you naked? Why is he naked?” He jabbed his finger at Liam.

  “I can explain.” I quickly threw on the robe. Do I dare tell Nathan about the pregnancy?

  Liam slowly turned around to look at Nathan, presenting me with a glorious view of his muscular ass. “We’re Lykos, we like being naked.”

  Nathan’s amber eyes glinted with rage. “And I’d like to rip your head off and beat you with it, Enforcer.”

  Mason pulled me closer to him. “This isn’t what it looks like, mate.”

  Nathan’s nostrils flared. “Do you think I’m a fucking idiot?” His booming voice reverberated off the water.

  “Not at all. You’re one of the smartest Lykos I know, Ambassador Steele,” Mason said in a soothing voice. He and Liam moved to stand next to one another as if they expected Nathan to attack.

  He won’t do that. Will he?

  Liam apparently thought so. “Don’t make any sudden moves, Beautiful.”

  “He’d never hurt me.” I knew that with every fiber of my being.

  Liam moved so he was physically blocking me from the silver-haired male. “Not intentionally, but he’s out of his mind with jealousy.”

  “Alphas are incredibly possessive and seeing you with us may be more than he can handle,” added Mason, keeping his gaze on Nathan.

  “He’s not losing me.” I turned to look at Nathan. “You need to calm down. There is nothing for you to be pissed over.”

  “Pissed doesn’t even cover it,” Nathan growled. “You’re banging two males in here while I’m outside fighting the Enforcer over you.” He turned and punched his fist straight into the wall.

  I flinched at the sound of his bones breaking. Oh, Crap. Technically, I’d only screwed Liam, but I didn’t think that would matter to Nathan right now. “Nathan, please.” I tried to step around Mason and Liam, but the two males refused to let me pass.

  “It’s not safe,” Liam cautioned, gently pushing me behind him.

  He’s got to be kidding. “I can take you all out.” In my monster-werewolf form, I was huge and virtually indestructible.

  “Remember, you can’t shift,” said Mason.

  “Oh, yeah.” That sucked.

  “We don’t want to fight you, Ambassador Steele,” Liam said calmly.

  “Then you shouldn’t have fucked my fiancé, asshole.” Nathan bared his teeth, his canines lengthening. His shoulders rippled as the muscles of his back and arm expanded. He looked seconds away from shifting and launching himself at my mates.

  Crap.

  “The only asshole here is you,” Gabriel said, shoving the door open behind Nathan. Moving in a blur of speed, he picked the Alpha male up and threw him into the air.

  Nathan flew over our heads and landed in the middle of the pool with a tidal wave-sized splash.

  “Some cold water should put out his fire.” Gabriel brushed his hands together, a smile of satisfaction on his face.

  “Nice one, brother,” Liam said, offering the dark-haired male a high-five.

  Nathan stayed under the water long enough that my heart took on a frantic beat inside my chest.

  Just as I was getting ready to dive in after him, he surfaced and swam for the edge of the pool.

  Relieved Nathan was okay and the tense situation seemed diffused for the moment, I sidestepped around Mason to get a better look at Gabriel. The smooth bronze skin of his broad, muscular chest was unmarked, and the chiseled features of his face were perfect. Unlike Nathan, it seemed the dark-haired male had come out of the fight without a scratch.

  Gabriel sniffed in my
direction, then smiled. “Why didn’t you invite me to the fuck fest, Princess?”

  I put my hands on my hips. “You were too busy beating Nathan’s face in.” My frosty tone could have turned the pool into a skating rink.

  Gabriel’s cocky expression faded. “You’re angry?”

  “Fuck yeah, I’m angry,” shouted Nathan. It sounded as if he were pulling himself out of the water.

  “Stay over there, Nathan,” I yelled, putting a healthy amount of compulsion in the order. I didn’t want him coming back and starting more shit with my mates.

  Turning my attention back to Gabriel, I said, “I asked you and Nathan not to fight.” Switching to our telepathic channel, I added, “It ruined the celebration.” That wasn’t entirely true, but he deserved to feel some guilt.

  Gabriel blinked. “Did I really?” His gaze went to Liam.

  My giant mate nodded. “You upset her. You need to apologize.”

  “For fuck’s sake. He needs to apologize to me,” boomed Nathan.

  We all ignored the Alpha.

  “She made it clear she didn’t want fighting between you and Ambassador Steele,” Mason said in a low voice. “Instead of supporting her, you went against her wishes.”

  Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest. “But that motherfucker openly challenged me.”

  “No one can take on an Alpha and win,” Nathan called out.

  I rolled my eyes willing Nathan to shut the hell up.

  “It doesn’t matter, Gabe. If Havana said no fighting Nathan, we don’t fight Nathan.”

  I gave Liam a look of thanks.

  Gabriel still wore a defiant expression. “But Nathan—”

  Liam interrupted him. “Do you want Havana to unclaim you and throw you out of her faction?”

  “Yes!” Nathan shouted.

  I gave Liam a quick look. “That’s a little harsh.”

  My biggest mate kept his gaze on Gabriel. “It’s the only way to get through his stubborn skull.”

  Gabriel looked startled for a moment. “No, that’s the last thing I want.” He fell to his knees in front of me. “I swear not to disobey you again.” His regret pulsed through our bond as he kissed my feet.

  “It’s okay, baby.” I held my hand out to him.

  Instead of pulling himself up with it, Gabriel kissed my hand all the while keeping his eyes downcast.

  “It’s okay,” I reached out and caressed the dark stubble on his chin.

  “None of this is fucking okay,” shouted Nathan.

  I gave the annoying Alpha the finger with my free hand. To Gabriel, I said, “I know it’s hard when someone is trying to start shit.” Hell. At that moment, I kind of wanted to punch Nathan in the face too.

  Gabriel finally looked up, his beautiful dark eyes meeting mine. “So you’re not mad at me?”

  “No.” There was no way I could stay angry with him. Gabriel was a moody, cynical bastard, but he was as loyal as they came. I knew he’d never knowingly do anything to cause me pain. Unless I asked for it… Memories of his spankings and nipple pinching came to mind. I ran my hand across his full lips.

  Gabriel nipped my fingers lightly.

  Just like that a haze of desire wiped any other thought from my mind. That clawing, aching need I thought I’d satisfied with Liam came roaring back. I let out that strange half growl-half purr sound again. “You’ll definitely need to be punished though.”

  Gabriel’s lips curled. “What punishment did you have in mind?”

  Heat flared between my legs. “Make me forget my name.” Uncaring of our audience, I slid my thigh over his shoulder and pressed myself against his face.

  “Unfucking believable!” Nathan shouted from across the room. It sounded as if he was punching the wall again.

  I didn’t give a crap about him because Gabriel was gripping my ass in his hands and giving my pussy a toe-curling lick that had me shrieking in delight.

  “Yes!” I buried my fingers in his thick dark hair. I needed this so bad. I moaned, feeling Mason and Liam’s hands on my body. Yes! I wanted them all touching me while Gabriel pleasured me, then I wanted each of them to take me one right after another—

  Mason physically ripped me off Gabriel. “You can’t.”

  “No!” I cried out as the Omega set me down on a lounge chair. “I need—” A feverish hunger had me trying to pull Mason on top of me.

  He backed away. “No, love. Remember, you can’t do this.”

  Mason’s words were like a slap on the face. He’s right. Crap. “Mason, what the fuck is wrong with me?” My breath came in pants as I tried to get ahold of myself.

  Mason’s brows drew together. “Surges in hormones can lead to an increased sex drive in some pregnant females.”

  This went far beyond an increased sex drive. The need to come was almost physically painful. I fought the urge to slip my hand between my legs. Get a grip, Vana.

  “Why can’t she mate?” Gabriel asked, shoving Liam. Apparently, the big guy had pulled Gabriel away.

  I can’t believe I just jumped on his face. A wave of embarrassment washed over me. Too bad it did nothing to dull the throbbing ache between my legs.

  Gabriel wore a confused expression. “It looks as though she’s in heat again.”

  “She’s not,” Liam and Mason said at the same time.

  “She’s pregnant,” Nathan announced in a pained voice.

  We all turned our head to find the Alpha male staring at me, a stricken look on his face. “Tasha would sometimes get like this—”

  “Soon after she conceived,” Gabriel finished for him. He stood, his dark eyes filling with wonder. “You’re pregnant.” He walked over to where I sat and crouched down next to me. “This is a blessing.” He laid one hand over my abdomen.

  I smiled and covered his hand with my own. “It is.” Even though the timing couldn’t be more off, at least Liam, Mason, and Gabriel seemed excited about it.

  “Who’s the father?” Nathan demanded.

  I tensed. Good question. How will we know?

  “We don’t need to know,” Liam said, reading my mind. “It’s ours.”

  Mason nodded his head. “Ours.”

  “Ours,” Gabriel repeated, rubbing my belly.

  His fingers on my skin fueled the fire in my blood. Trying to control the sexual hunger before it took over again, I pushed Gabriel’s hand away and stood. “We’ll raise this child, and all the others, together… as a family.”

  Nathan cursed. “Then I see you’ve made your choice.” He’d lost his blanket in the pool and tiny rivulets of water dripped down his gorgeous, naked muscular body.

  Damn, he’s as sexy as ever. I wet my lips. “My choice is to have all four of you as my mates.”

  Nathan shook his head. “I can’t go for that.”

  Anger sparked inside me. “Well, you don’t get to make all the decisions anymore.”

  Nathan looked stunned. “You compelled me to accept your claim and now you’d force me to stay with you?”

  My mates stared at me in shocked silence.

  “You compelled him to bond with you?” Gabriel finally asked.

  “Well, yeah, I had to.”

  I felt Liam and Gabriel’s immediate shock and horror. It was clear I’d violated some sacred rule. I tried to explain. “I had to in order to save his life.”

  Nathan slapped his chest. “You accomplished your goal. I’m alive and I don’t want to spend the rest of my days as one of your groupies. Unclaim me.”

  I sucked in a pained breath. He can’t mean that. Some part of me hoped against hope he’d be willing to give this a try. “Nathan, I want you and them. We can all be together.”

  “No, we can’t,” he spat. “I’m not sharing with these males.”

  I let out an exasperated breath. “Why are you being so stubborn? When we first got together you wanted to share me with Tyberius, remember?” A memory of Nathan’s model-gorgeous best friend flashed in my mind. My temple throbbed for a second and ano
ther memory, or maybe it was a dream, flashed in my head. The tall, dark-skinned male was reading to me from a book. Tyberius looked over the top of the pages. “I love you, Starfire.”

  I blinked and the memory or dream faded.

  Weird.

  Nathan clenched his jaw. “That was different.”

  “Different how?” I put my hands on my hips. “At the time I’d never had a threesome, but I was willing to give it a try for you. Why can’t you try this for me?”

  My other mates look from me to Nathan.

  “No.” Nathan’s expression hardened. “Release me from your claim.”

  I shook my head. I didn’t want to lose him, not now after I’d just gotten him back. “Nathan, please.”

  “If you don’t let me go, you’re no better than Tasha.”

  I recoiled from his words and the hurt and anger radiating from our bond.

  “She’s nothing like Tasha,” Liam declared stepping in front of me.

  I gave him a grateful look.

  Gabriel growled. “The fact you’d ever even make that comparison tells me you don’t deserve our Alpha. If you want your freedom, she’ll give it to you. Right, Havana?”

  I slowly nodded, anguish tearing at my heart. “Are you sure, Nathan?” He’d told me once I broke the bond, it could never be remade.

  His golden gaze arrowed straight into my soul. “Are you sure, Vana? You’re throwing away everything we had, our love, our family, our future for them.” He jabbed his finger at my other mates. “You don’t even know them.”

  I looked into Gabriel’s dark eyes, then Liam’s deep green ones, and then finally Mason’s ocean blue gaze. “I know enough. I know I love each of them, just as I love you.”

  A pained look crossed Nathan’s face. “Choose me and only me, or let me go.”

  Grief choked me, but I couldn’t force Nathan to stay with me and I wouldn’t leave the males who’d fathered my child. I swallowed hard. “W-what do I do to break the bond?”

  Nathan’s face lost color. He obviously hadn’t expected me to choose the others over him.

  Liam, Gabriel, and Mason looked at each other with uncertain expressions.

  “I think you just declare him to be unclaimed,” Liam finally said.